Tell Me
by plasticineking
Summary: Mackenzie McHale is nothing if not persistent, and Will is anything but surprised by her late night phone call. Will/Mac, duh. post 1x10...also duh.


**Tell Me**

"_Will can't tell Mackenzie what's on the rest of that message. He just can't. He was able to do it when he was high, and he can't do it when he was straight. Will's got to be able to forgive Mackenzie, and then they'll be able to... I don't think 'pick up where they left off' but start over again." - Aaron Sorkin._

* * *

"So, what did the rest of the message say?" Her voice drifted through his phone.

"Hello to you, too." He replied sarcastically.

"Hello Will. Now, what did the rest of the message say?"

"Really, Mac? It's two thirty in the morning, and for some reason I was _finally _getting a good nights sleep," Will lied, knowing and not caring that she'd see right through it.

"Oh shush, we both know a good nights sleep doesn't start until three at the earliest. Anyway... What did the rest of the message say?" She pressed another time.

"I can't remember."

"Oh please, you expect me to believe you literally can't remember past 'I'm not just saying this because I'm high'..." She trailed off, waiting.

"It would be a great honour if you could," He half-pleaded.

"Come on, Billy. What are you afraid of?" He could hear her smile as she spoke.

"... Mac, after that, after the message I went for months believing," He coughed, "believing one thing and then accepting it, I don't want to go through that again."

"Will..." She sighed slightly, pausing before speaking again, "Wait, I have an idea-"

"And they never go wrong," he cut through.

"Shh! I'll hang up -"

"Please do," he cut through again.

"I'll hang up, and you ring me back and leave me the message again, and I'll listen and... We'll go from there? How does that sound?" She asked.

"Ridiculous." He replied swiftly.

"Is that a yes?" The excitement evident in her voice, "Okay... I'm going now... I'm hanging up... Really."

"It would help if you press the button, Mac. _Two_ peabody's, really?"

"Shut up," She answered back before the obvious end of the call tone came through at his end.

He stared at his phone for close to a minute, the internal debate on whether or not he should tell her raging on throughout his body. He finally picked up his phone, finding her number, hovering slightly before pressing the button to ring her. It soon went to her voicemail, and he almost rolled his eyes, when the beep came he was quiet for a moment.

"Mac... I," He paused, taking a breath he continued, "Okay... I-I said, _'Hey it's me... I'm not just saying this because I'm high... something about after tonight I really wanted to tell...' _No... No I can't do it. What I said that night, if you had heard it, if you had heard it and agreed we probably wouldn't be talking right now. I haven't forgiven you, and I want to... I _really _want to...but I haven't, and what I said on that voicemail... We have a chance, Mac, we have a chance to do it right and you don't want to know what's on that voicemail because even if some of it is true, it wasn't the right place..." He paused, before carrying on...

* * *

When she wanted to, Mac could be a patient person. She had to help form a whole group of young, and confident lacking reporters and producers, so patience came easily. In this situation however, she wasn't patient. She made herself a tea, and turned on her laptop, allowing it to load in the background and every five seconds – which felt like hours – she'd check her phone, turning it on silent, then off silent again, pretending it didn't exist, and not taking her eyes off it. She checked her e-mails on her computer, finding none she checked her spam folder, there was one from Nina Howard titled 'I thought you may want to hear this' and Mac's heart stopped, because she didn't have to be a genius to know what the e-mail said. She had a chance to hear the message. She had a chance to actually hear _the _message and how it ended. She opened the e-mail

_To: Mackenzie McHale ACN_

_From: TMI_

_CC:_

_Subject: I thought you may want to hear this._

_Attached: **1 file [click to download]**_

_Mackenzie. I'm going to delete this message, and the file, but I thought if anyone deserves to hear it, it's the person that it was intended for. I want to say no hard feelings, but I don't expect anything._

_Good luck,_

_Nina Howard._

Her move instantly moved and clicked to download the file, happily awaiting it's download, she had completely forgotten about the phone as it beeped to show a new message. She picked it up where lay next to her laptop on the coffee table and saw the sign that said 'new voicemail' and she couldn't believe her luck. She had the real message and this new one confirming – hopefully – what the first message said. She had her phone pressed to he ear as the voicemail began. The download for her original voicemail in the back of her mind as she listened to his voice, half-frustrated, but mostly soft.

"_...because even if some of it is true, it wasn't the right place..." there was a pause, "the right place in whatever the hell this is between us. It's stupid to ask, and I wouldn't blame you for ignoring me, but could you wait? It's not going to be quick or easy, but anything I said on that voicemail I needed to say to your face, you deserve that... okay...bye..."_

As the message ended with a fumble of Will finding the button and hanging up, Mac sighed. Her download had finished, and she could, without telling Will, listen to the message and find out what he had said. Yet, as she deleted the e-mail, and moved the new download to the recycle bin, she felt that even if Will wasn't aware of the massive restraints she had just taken to _not _listen to the voicemail, she was, and that was a step in the right direction.

* * *

Will almost wished that this voicemail would be hacked and deleted. He had, or at least he thought he had, made a mess of it all, but as a few minutes passed and he had a text message from Mac, maybe he was wrong. Opening, he smiled as he read the words,

_'I'm in.'_

* * *

**A/N: IS IT JUNE YET?!**

**I'm sorry, I guess you'll just have to have my rushed stories as I sob into bowl of cocopops and wonder why June isn't January and why can't the season have 40 episodes?!**


End file.
